Short answer
To lock an app on iPhone, touch and hold its icon on the Home Screen, tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode), then confirm. The app then needs Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode to open. To also hide it, choose Hide and Require Face ID: it moves to the Hidden folder in App Library. This works from iOS 18 on. To lock apps at certain times instead, use Screen Time: a Screen Time Schedule (Downtime in iOS 26) or a Time Allowance (App Limits in iOS 26), protected by a Screen Time passcode.
To lock an app on iPhone, touch and hold the app on the Home Screen, tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode), and confirm. From then on the app opens only with your face, your fingerprint or your passcode, and you can also hide it in a Hidden folder.
That lock keeps other people out. If what you want is to lock apps from yourself, say Instagram after 10 PM, you need Screen Time or an app blocker instead. People mean three different things by “lock an app”, so this guide covers all three, with the steps for iOS 27 and iOS 26. Everything was checked against Apple’s iPhone User Guide on October 26, 2026.
Three ways to lock apps on iPhone, compared
| Method | Who it stops | Needs a code? | Can you get around it? | Built in? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Require Face ID (lock an app) | Other people holding your phone | Face ID, Touch ID or your iPhone passcode | Yes, you open it with your own face | Yes, iOS 18 or later |
| Hide and Require Face ID (hide an app) | Other people seeing or opening it | Same as above | Yes, the Hidden folder opens with your face | Yes, App Store apps only |
| Time Allowance / App Limit (daily limit) | You, after a set amount of time | Optional Screen Time passcode | By default, Apple’s iOS 26 guide says limits “can be ignored once reached” | Yes |
| Screen Time Schedule / Downtime (set hours) | You, at certain times | Screen Time passcode, needed on iOS 26 for Block at Downtime | If you know the passcode, you can type it | Yes |
| App blocker such as Calma | You, at the times you choose | No code | Depends on the app. In Calma, scheduled blocks have no continue button; you switch the routine off in the app | No, from the App Store |
The first two are privacy locks. The last three are time locks. They solve different problems, and you can use both on the same app.
How to lock an app with Face ID on iPhone
Apple’s iPhone User Guide documents the app lock from iOS 18 on, and the steps are the same idea in iOS 26 and iOS 27:
- Go to the Home Screen.
- Touch and hold the app you want to lock until the Quick Actions menu opens.
- Tap Require Face ID (on an iPhone with Touch ID, Require Touch ID; without either, Require Passcode).
- Tap Require Face ID again to confirm, and authenticate if asked.
Apple’s iOS 27 and iOS 18 guides list that confirming tap. The iOS 26 guide lists only the first one, so tap whatever your iPhone shows.
What happens next, in Apple’s words and ours:
- Opening the app asks for Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode every time. After you quit the app, it locks again by itself.
- Its content stays out of other places. Apple says information inside a locked app won’t appear in notification previews, search, Siri suggestions, CarPlay or your call history.
- It’s only on that iPhone. The lock doesn’t sync with iCloud, so lock the app on each device.
- To remove the lock, touch and hold the app, tap Don’t Require Face ID, and authenticate.
One note for families: Apple says children under 13 in a Family Sharing group can’t lock or hide apps. Teens aged 13 to 17 can, but a parent or guardian in the group can still see that the app was downloaded and how much it’s used, and restrict it with Screen Time. Apple adds that these ages vary by country or region.
How to hide an app on iPhone
Hiding an app locks it and takes it off your Home Screen. On iOS 27, Apple says it also disappears from App Library and search results.
- Touch and hold the app until the Quick Actions menu opens.
- Tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode).
- Tap Hide and Require Face ID, authenticate, then tap Hide App.
The app moves to the Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. To open it, swipe left past all your Home Screen pages, tap Hidden, authenticate, then tap the app. To see a list of hidden apps, go to Settings > Apps > Hidden Apps. To bring an app back, open the Hidden folder, touch and hold the app, and tap Don’t Require Face ID.
Hidden doesn’t mean invisible everywhere. Apple’s iOS 26 guide says a hidden app’s name still shows in places such as Screen Time, Battery Usage By App in Settings, and your App Store purchase history.
Which apps can’t be locked or hidden?
Apple names two limits:
- Locking: Apple’s iOS 26 guide says some built-in apps can’t be locked, including Calculator, Camera, Clock, Contacts, Find My, Maps, Shortcuts and Settings. The iOS 27 guide doesn’t repeat that list, so if one of these shows no Require Face ID option, that’s the likely reason.
- Hiding: only apps you downloaded from the App Store can be hidden. Apps that came with the iPhone can’t, and neither can the app you set as your default web browser or, in the EU, your default app marketplace.
To keep a built-in app like Camera out of reach, Screen Time’s Content & Privacy Restrictions can hide some of them. That’s covered in how to block apps on iPhone without deleting them.
Can you put a password on an app on iPhone?
Yes, but it’s your iPhone passcode, not a separate password. Apple’s lock asks for Face ID, Touch ID or the passcode you use to unlock the phone. Apple’s guide doesn’t describe a different password per app.
There’s a second kind of code: the Screen Time passcode. It’s a separate four-digit code that protects your Screen Time limits and schedules, not the app itself. Here’s how to set, change or reset the Screen Time passcode.
How do I lock WhatsApp or Instagram on iPhone?
Use the same Require Face ID steps above. They work for WhatsApp, Instagram and other App Store apps, and you can hide them too.
WhatsApp also has its own lock. In WhatsApp, tap Settings, then Privacy > App Lock, and turn on Require Face ID. WhatsApp’s help center says you can choose to lock it immediately, after 1 minute, after 15 minutes or after 1 hour, that you can still reply from notifications and answer calls while it’s locked, and that your iPhone passcode works if Face ID fails. Use one lock or the other; both ask for your face.
If “lock Instagram” means stopping yourself from opening it at night, a Face ID lock won’t help, because your face opens it in a second. See how to block Instagram on iPhone for limits and schedules.
How to lock apps with a time limit or schedule
Screen Time locks apps by time instead of by face. There are two tools. iOS 27 renamed both.
A daily limit. On iOS 27, go to Settings > Screen Time > Time Allowances, tap Manage Categories, add a category such as Social Media, then set its daily time. On iOS 26, go to Settings > Screen Time > App Limits > Add Limit, pick a category (or tap it to pick single apps), tap Next and set the time.
Set hours. On iOS 27, go to Settings > Screen Time > Screen Time Schedule, turn on Schedule, tap Add Schedule, pick the days, then set the time window and the categories that stay available in it. On iOS 26, go to Settings > Screen Time > Downtime, tap Scheduled, choose Every Day or Customize Days, and set the start and end times.
Then lock those settings with a Screen Time passcode (iOS 27: Passcode & Management > Lock Screen Time Settings). On iOS 26, setting a passcode is also what lets you turn on Block at Downtime. With it on, Apple says restricted apps can’t be opened during downtime. With it off, “you can choose to continue using the apps.”
Two catches. Apple’s iOS 26 guide says “by default, Screen Time limits can be ignored once reached.” And iOS 27’s Time Allowances and schedules work by category and need iOS 27 or later on all your Apple devices. The full steps, app by app, are in how to block apps on iPhone without deleting them, and every renamed menu is in the iOS 27 Screen Time changes.
Can I lock apps without Screen Time?
Yes, if you mean a privacy lock. Require Face ID and hiding don’t use Screen Time at all, and WhatsApp’s own lock is a setting inside WhatsApp.
To lock apps by time, you need Screen Time or an app blocker. App blockers on iPhone, Calma included, run on Apple’s Screen Time framework under the hood. The difference is where you set the rules: inside the blocker, not in the Screen Time menus. We explain why in how app blockers work on iPhone.
How do I lock apps from myself at night?
Pick the hours, pick the apps, and make the lock something you don’t type your way past. A Face ID lock doesn’t do it: you’re the one with the face.
With Screen Time, set a Screen Time Schedule (Downtime on iOS 26) from 10 PM to 7 AM and have someone you trust choose the passcode. A code you set yourself is a short pause, as we cover in why you keep overriding app limits.
With an app blocker, the rule lives in the app. We make Calma, so weigh this with that in mind. In Calma, a rule reads like “rest Instagram and TikTok every day from 10 PM to 7 AM” (the Night Peace routine), or the Study Time routine for study hours. Opening a resting app shows “[App] is resting.” with one button, Back to calm. There’s no code and no continue button on scheduled blocks. To use the app anyway, you switch the routine off in Calma, a deliberate step rather than a reflex.
Calma is best for people who want a few apps closed at the same hours every day, without a Screen Time passcode. It’s not for locking apps away from other people (use Face ID for that), and it’s not for iPad, Mac or websites: it’s iPhone only, needs iOS 18 or later, and blocking needs Calma Pro, with a 3-day free trial for eligible new subscribers. More on the options in what an app blocker for iPhone does.
Sources
All checked on October 26, 2026.
- Apple Support, Lock or hide an app on iPhone (iOS 27) and Lock or hide an app on iPhone (iOS 26: built-in apps that can’t be locked, where hidden app names still appear). The iOS 18 version is the first edition of the guide with this page.
- Apple Support, Set Screen Time Schedules and Time Allowances in Screen Time on iPhone (iOS 27) and Set schedules with Screen Time on iPhone (iOS 26: App Limits, Downtime, Block at Downtime, limits can be ignored by default).
- Apple Support, Create, change, or remove a Screen Time passcode on iPhone (iOS 27, Lock Screen Time Settings, checked again November 2, 2026).
- WhatsApp Help Center, How to use app lock (iPhone: Privacy > App Lock, lock timing, replies from notifications, passcode fallback).
- App Store, App Blocker & Detox: Calma (iOS requirement, trial).